


Torn

by EvilRegality93



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-10-27
Updated: 2014-12-10
Packaged: 2018-02-22 20:13:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,430
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2520365
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EvilRegality93/pseuds/EvilRegality93
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Regina finds herself torn between two worlds and two loves. Will she chose the simple life she's always wanted with Daniel or risk it all for a chance at happiness with Emma? Stable Queen AND Swan Queen.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Regina looked down at the mass of blonde hair sprawled across her lap. Emma looked strangely peaceful when she was asleep, despite the fact that less than half an hour ago she'd been throwing up into the toilet of Regina's master bathroom. Now, Regina was sat on her bed with her back against the headboard and Emma draped over her legs.

She knew she should get some sleep too. She should get up and move into the guest room so Emma could remain here in her bed. Yet she continued to sit exactly where she was with her fingers slowly raking through Emma's hair. It's not like she'd be able to sleep anyway; she never could after she'd been drinking. Instead of knocking her out, the alcohol only seemed to make her brain work faster as it jumped from one thought to another, almost too quickly for her to keep up with. There was one thought her hyperactive brain kept returning to though. Emma. Emma and the way her own father had nearly had to arrest her for starting a bar fight all because a drunk had decided he wanted to dance with Regina and wasn't going to take no for an answer.

Emma had always been strangely protective towards her, even when they hated each other, images of fires and angry mobs and wraiths flicked through the back of her mind in quick succession, yet this felt different. It felt personal. Emma had worked herself into a violent frenzy, lashing out at a man who could barely see straight. It's not like he'd posed any real threat. He was merely a mild annoyance, so why had she needed to physically pull Emma off of him before she could inflict any more damage? The alcohol in her own system had slowed her reactions just enough that Emma had managed to break his nose before she'd thought to intervene.

She couldn't decide whether this was another extension of that same protective streak; the need to be a Saviour to everybody, that Emma had always possessed or if it really was something more. She wasn't sure what she wanted to believe. Part of her was desperately clinging onto the shred of hope that maybe Emma was jealous. Maybe she couldn't stand the thought of Regina dancing with anyone but her. And maybe that would mean that the feelings Regina had for Henry's birth mother weren't as unrequited as she'd thought. Yet the rational side of her was questioning that even if that were true, would she really want to date someone so possessive again? She'd spent so much of her life fighting for the right to control her own life and she'd promised herself many years ago that she'd never lose it again. But this was Emma. Emma would never hurt her would she?

Her frustration at herself slipped out into a groan loud enough to cause Emma to stir in her sleep. Luckily she only snuggled her head further against Regina's stomach and continued sleeping.

She was being ridiculous. All of this worry was completely pointless. Sure her and Emma had come a long way. She had reluctantly become a part of the Charming family, with family dinners and movie nights and then nights like tonight where Regina would hold back Emma's hair as she emptied her stomach after hours of drinking and dancing. She even shared her job as Mayor with Snow for God's sake. So yes, things had improved, but at the end of the day she would always be the Evil Queen. And Emma would always be the Saviour. No matter how much she wished it not to be true, they were never going to be each other's happy ending. She was lucky to even get friendship from the other woman, let alone anything more. She had her son and her friends and her godson Neal. It was more than she deserved.

She shuffled slowly down the bed, careful not to wake the sleeping woman beside her. Her eyes fell shut as soon as her head hit the pillow and she felt herself being lulled off to sleep by the sounds of Emma's steady breathing.

This is enough, she told herself for the millionth time, don't ruin it by wanting more.

*-*-*-*

The next morning Regina was woken by the soft morning light that filtered into her bedroom through the narrow gap between the curtains. She slowly opened her eyes and looked towards her alarm clock. They still had a couple of hours before Henry would arrive home from his grandparent's. That gave her plenty of time to make some breakfast for her and Emma and then maybe have a talk. There was a fine line between protective and possessive and Emma deserved to know that she was coming close to crossing it.

She turned onto her side to study the woman in question, only to find the rest of the bed empty. Had Emma left already? She knew she should have moved to the guest room, waking up in bed together had probably scared Emma senseless, particularly if her memory of the night before was as blurry as she suspected it would be.

The sound of the taps running in her bathroom pulled her from her thoughts before she could obsess any more about Emma running away back to New York. She lifted her head so she could watch the bathroom door as it opened to reveal…. Daniel?!

"Morning beautiful," he said as he crossed the room and placed a gentle kiss to her forehead. "Are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"D…D..Daniel?"

He dropped to his knees beside her and reached out to stroke her hair. The hurt that filled his eyes as she flinched away instantly made her feel guilty but she couldn't help it. She couldn't work out if she was dreaming or if she'd finally gone insane. How else could her dead fiancé be knelt before her?

"You had that dream again didn't you?" He asked, making sure not to touch her as he spoke, clearly trying not to spook her. "The dream where I died?"

He seemed to take her lack of response as confirmation. "It's okay Regina, I'm right here. You saved me."

"I saved you?" The second she said it, she could see the image of Daniel standing in the stables fighting with the new monster inside of him. Except this time as she pressed their lips together in desperation a blinding white light had filled the small space. True Love's Kiss. "I saved you," she repeated again, this time with more certainty.

"Yes, you did." He slowly reached his hand out once more towards her cheek but left it hovering a few inches from her skin. As if on instinct, Regina closed the distance and nuzzled her hand into his palm.

He was really here. She finally had him back after decades of heartbreak. She still had no idea how this was possible, how she seemed to have a whole new set of memories crammed into her head along side the old ones, but the warmth of his hand proved to her that this was real. Did it really matter how or why? She had everything she wanted. The love of her life and her son and….

"Where's Emma?"

Daniel had never been particularly good at hiding his emotions, especially from her. Despite his best efforts, the way he flinched at Emma's name was painfully obvious.

"Daniel? What's the matter? Where is she?"

"You know where she is, my love."

Again, another familiar image filled formed before her eyes. She was leant against a tree staring at the well, waiting to see who would emerge. Only this time instead of Emma and Snow climbing from its depths, there was nothing at all. No one had made it through the portal, Emma had never come home. Henry had been so devastated but for once it hadn't been her fault, she'd tried to save them and he knew it.

Daniel seemed to be waiting for her to say something about Emma but what was there to say? One minute she'd been curled up in bed with the blonde but without Daniel and now she'd lost Emma instead. "Is Henry asleep?"

"I'll go check." If Daniel knew she was deliberately changing the subject he decided to allow it. He left the bedroom in search of her son. The son that was finally all hers. It was ironic how empty that thought made her feel.

She laid back down and curled into a ball, pulling the covers up over her head as tears started to stream down her cheeks.

*-*-*-*

She eventually managed to pull herself together and take a shower. At least that made her feel slightly more normal. By the time she'd put on her favourite pencil skirt and blouse and done her make-up it became a lot easier to pretend everything was normal.

She made her way down the stairs to find Daniel and Henry in the kitchen, seamlessly working together to make breakfast. Despite everything, the sight of them together brought a huge smile to her face. This really was all she'd ever wanted.

Her heels clicking against the tiled floor alerted them to her presence. "Hey mom. Apple pancakes or banana?"

"Apple. Do you even need to ask?" Her son simply shrugged before turning back to the chopping board to slice more apples. She moved behind him and wrapped him into her arms, much tighter than would probably be considered normal for a morning hug. She needed this though, she needed to feel him in her arms.

Henry gently put the knife down before turning round, still in her arms. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I just…" She took a step back to give herself room to think. What could she say? Her son hated lying but she didn't want to worry him. Whatever was going on was obviously not something he needed to be concerned with.

Luckily Daniel saved her from needing to come up with an excuse for her behaviour. "Your mom's not feeling great today, buddy."

"Is that why you aren't in your riding gear? Aren't we going to the stables any more?"

They both looked at her expectantly.

"Why don't you two go?" She gave them her best politicians smile. "I have a few things I really need to do today."

"But mom! We always go…" Yet again Daniel seemed to jump to her rescue. He bent down and whispered something into Henry's ear that made his eyes light up in a familiarly mischievous way. "Okay. Just this once we'll go on our own."

He grabbed his plate of now cooked pancakes and headed straight to the dining room to eat, leaving Regina and Daniel alone.

"What did you whisper to him?"

"I simply reminded him that we can ride much faster if you aren't there to constantly panic about him falling off."

Regina gently slapped his arm but didn't bother denying it. She'd never apologise for being protective of her son. "Make sure you take care of him for me."

"I'll protect him with my life, you know that," Daniel said as he handed her plate of pancakes over, "I won't let any harm come to him."

Regina returned his smile and followed her son to the table. It was true, she did know Daniel would do anything to protect Henry. The fact she'd suggested Henry spend the day with him without even a moment's hesitation proved that. She didn't know much about what was going on but she knew her son would always be safe with him.

She needed to understand what was happening and there was only one person she could think of that could help her figure this all out. It was time to pay Rumplestiltskin a visit.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A couple of people wanted me to continue this so here's another chapter for you. Thank you for the reviews and kudos, I really appreciate it.

Regina had been sitting in her Mercedes outside of Gold's shop for the past 20 minutes. She knew she needed answers but how to get them was the problem. For once in her life she didn't have a plan of attack and that made her nervous.

On her way to the pawn shop she'd stopped into Granny's for some much needed coffee. She wasn't sure if it was from the stress of her morning or the alcohol she'd consumed with Emma last night, but either way her head was pounding. She'd been surprised by the cold greeting she'd received from Ruby. It would seem in this version of reality, one without Snow and Emma, she and the wolf had never made the transition to friends. In fact, the only person in the entire diner who didn't openly glare at her was Archie. He smiled awkwardly and reminded her about her appointment tomorrow before returning to his morning paper.

She tried to tell herself that she didn't care, she'd long ago decided that she didn't need the love of these peasants. But now she'd had a taste of it in what she'd started calling the 'Real World', it was hard to go back to the way things had been. They were treating her exactly as they had after the curse had broken, minus the angry mobs.

The sound of a knock against the passenger window drew her from her thoughts. Before she could so much as react, the door was pulled open and Gold was sitting beside her. "Are you spying on me, Your Majesty?" he asked in way of greeting.

"Do you really think you'd have caught me if was?" There was something strangely reassuring about their bickering. It seemed to be the one constant in her life, present in every world and realm without fail.

"You're not nearly as subtle as you think you are, Dearie," he responded with a shrug, "but if you aren't spying on me, then why are you here?"

She still didn't have a plan. There didn't seem to be a way to have this conversation without sounding crazy. She seemed to be the only one who thought anything was wrong. Everyone seemed to believe this was the Real World.

"I need some information." It seemed like the safest place to start.

"Well you've come to the right place." He ran his thumb and index finger across his chin as if in deep thought. "Did you know that babies are born without kneecaps? Or that the largest snowflake ever recorded was 15 inches across?"

It took her a moment to work out what the hell he was talking about, but once she did, she found herself wishing they were in a less confined space so she could safely throw a fireball in his face. It took all her self-control not to do it anyway, consequences be damned.

"Not that sort of information you diseased little imp! I'm not here to improve my general damn knowledge!" She knew he was enjoying her anger. The smug grin on his face told her as much, but somehow he always managed to get under her skin. "I want to know something specific and if you don't tell me, then I swear to every God imaginable that I will rip you limb from limb slowly and painfully until…"

"I know what information you want." He said simply, ignoring her threats.

"You do?" She didn't know whether to be relieved or terrified by that. If he knew that time had somehow rewritten itself or that they'd been transported to a parallel universe or whatever was going on here, then he'd know how to fix it. Unless it was his doing to begin with. Then she was well and truly screwed.

"Of course I do. Nothing happens in this town without my knowledge." His face remained completely blank, as if he were simply discussing the weather. The temptation to throw a fireball at him quickly resurfaced.

"So what the hell is going on?!"

"What's the matter Your Majesty? I thought you'd decided you wanted to make your own destiny from now on? Or was that just empty words to you?"

She knew he was referring to her battle against Zelena but according to her memories of this world, that had never happened. There had been no Greg and Tamara, no Neverland, no Peter Pan and no second curse. None of it had happened in this version of her life. (Honestly, things had been remarkably quiet for her here.) But it was the proof she needed that Gold had memories of both worlds like she did. He was telling the truth about knowing what was happening.

"What does my sister have to do with anything?" she asked. Had Zelena managed to go back in time and rewrite history after all? Surely her existence would have been completely wiped out if that were true. Zelena wanted her destroyed, not reunited with her long lost love. "What does she have to do with Daniel?"

Thankfully Gold chose to ignore the way her voice wavered slightly as she said Daniel's name.

"You're a reasonably intelligent woman Regina, you'll understand soon enough. It appears that you have a choice to make. One you need to think very carefully about." He pulled open the door and slipped from the vehicle. "Say hello to your husband for me." The door slammed shut with his words.

Husband? She was married to Daniel? Suddenly she could remember Henry giving her away and Katherine and Frederick acting as witnesses. No one else had attended the small service at City Hall but she hadn't cared. After everything she'd been through, she'd been able to marry the man she'd fallen in love with all those years ago. She was finally the wife of the Stable Boy.

*-*-*-*

The rest of the day passed in a blur. Both Henry and Daniel could tell something was wrong with her but largely left her to her own thoughts. She moved automatically through their evening routine as she cooked and then watched as the two men in her life did the washing up together. Before long she was wishing Henry goodnight.

Once the boy was gone, Daniel stood from his place on the floor, where he'd insisted on sitting while they watched yet another superhero movie, and joined her on the couch. "Do you want to talk about whatever is going on with you today?"

Regina curled willingly into his side as he lifted his arm for her, revelling in the feeling of safety being in his arms had always created. It seemed some things never changed, no matter how much time passed. He deserved to know what was going on didn't he? But how do you tell someone that they're meant to be dead? "Can we discuss it tomorrow? I promise I'll explain everything but for now I need to sleep. It's been a long day."

He placed the gentlest of kisses to the tip of her nose. "Of course darling. Whatever you need. Why don't you go up and I'll join you in a bit?"

In her memories of this world, she knew that he always came to bed at the same time as her. It could be the middle of the afternoon and he'd still be there with her, sitting up in bed and reading while she slept. He was trying to give her the space he knew she needed.

"Thank you Daniel." There were so many things she needed to thank him for. Hopefully he'd understand. "I love you."

"I love you too. So, so much. Don't forget that okay?"

Without knowing how to respond, Regina gave Daniel a shy smile and climbed the stairs to her-no their- bedroom.

She climbed into bed without even bothering to get undressed. She was suddenly exhausted. She closed her eyes and was asleep within seconds.

*-*-*-*

"Shit! Regina wake up!" a familiar voice shouted at her. It sounded urgent enough that she reluctantly dragged herself from her slumber and opened her eyes. "Regina! We have 10 minutes until Henry gets home! Get your ass outta bed!"

As the world came into focus, the first thing Regina saw was bright blonde hair. "Emma?"

"I mean it Regina, we need to get up. We both look like hell." Emma was running around the room looking for her boots as she tried to brush her hair.

Confused didn't even begin to cover how Regina felt in that moment. Everything was back to normal. The previous day must have been a dream and now she'd woken up. She was back where she belonged. So why did it feel like somebody had ripped her heart out and stomped on it?

Emma stopped her frantic preparations long enough to look over at the woman still in bed, presumably to shout at her again. "Oh God, what's wrong Gina?" She instantly abandoned her attempts to get ready so she could sit beside Regina. Pale fingers reached up to wipe away the tears that were now streaming down the brunette's face. "You don't really look like hell, I was only joking." Her attempt at humour did manage to bring a small smile to Regina's face but it didn't stop the tears.

"I… You… We… Daniel…" Regina didn't even know where to begin trying to explain what was going on in her head. Poor Emma looked so lost and confused. Until a sudden look of panic settled over her features.

"Wait… We didn't do anything here." Emma's hand waved around the bed they were sitting on. "Last night… Is that what you're upset about? I swear nothing happened. I must have passed out in your bed. I'm sorry. I didn't… y'know… touch you or anything. I would never do that Regina. I…"

Her words were interrupted with an even louder sob. Regina knew she was being stupid. She couldn't be crying over losing Daniel yet again and still be heartbroken that Emma had admitted she'd never want to touch her. What was wrong with her? Why did it hurt so much when all Emma was doing was being noble? She was reassuring her that no lines had been crossed, that she hadn't been taken advantage of while drunk. Emma was trying to make her feel better.

"Regina, what did I do wrong? I'm so sorry, please don't cry."

Despite her best attempts she still couldn't stop crying. This wasn't her. She was a Queen not a weak child. She was better than this. Yet it suddenly felt like the carefully balanced control she'd finally gained over her life was falling apart around her.

"Is this about me punching that man last night? I know I screwed up, I know you could have dealt with him and I have no right to tell you who you can dance with but… god… it was disgusting. He was looking at you like you were some piece of meat. He wasn't even worthy to talk to you let alone dance with you." Emma got up from her place on the bed and began pacing the floor. "I couldn't help myself, it made me so mad! You deserve so much better than that!" She dropped to her knees beside the bed, so similar to Daniel it only made Regina's tears fall faster. "I'm really sorry. Do you want me to go?"

Her hand reached out to grab Emma, stopping her before she could move away. "NO!" The thought of letting Emma out of her sight after her dream made her feel physically sick. "I want you to stay. Please?"

"Of course." Emma instantly agreed. "But you have to tell me what I did wrong so I can fix it."

Regina wiped the remaining tears from her cheeks and took a few deep breaths. "You haven't done anything Emma, although at some point we probably should talk about what you did to that man last night. This isn't because of you… well not really anyway… I had a dream and it was so real and I'm confused. I'm sorry if I scared you."

Emma's bottom lip became trapped between her teeth as it always did when she was trying to work something out. "You said Daniel's name and then you were surprised I was here when I woke you up. You dreamt about him didn't you? You thought it was him you'd be waking up with? And instead you find you're stuck with me. You don't have to apologise, I think that's enough to make anyone cry."

"Emma…" Regina needed to explain that it was so much more than that. It was relief that Emma was alive, it was the heartbreak of Daniel's death, it was the utter confusion about how something so real could have been created by her mind, it was knowing she was back somewhere where the town could actually see she had changed, where she had friends. But also where at the end of the day, Emma would go home and Henry would go to bed and she would be alone again.

Before she could begin to voice any of her chaotic thoughts and emotions, the doorbell rang signalling the arrival of their son.

"Go get a shower and meet us downstairs. Henry and I will get breakfast started okay?" Without waiting for a response, Emma was gone. And just like in her dream, all Regina wanted to do was crawl under the covers and never come out. Why was her life always so complicated?


	3. Chapter 3

Regina was sitting at her vanity table, absentmindedly brushing through her damp hair, when a pair of arms wrapped around her from behind. The unexpected contact made her jump but she soon relaxed into her son's embrace.

"Morning mom," he said as he planted a kiss on her cheek.

She met the reflection of his eyes in the mirror in front of her and noticed the sadness within them. "What's the matter my little Prince?"

Henry finally released her from their hug but remained standing right behind her, their eyes still locked together in the mirror. "Why is Emma destroying the toaster? We both know she only does that when she's upset."

Emma had never been very good at expressing her emotions like a normal person. As a result, a cupboard full of broken appliances could normally be found at any home she spent a large amount of time in.

"It's nothing Henry, I promise. Just a simple misunderstanding." Regina plastered on her best smile and continued running the brush through her hair.

Unfortunately her son had always been able to see right through her fake smiles. "What happened? Are you both okay?"

"I'll sort everything out, it's nothing you need to worry about Mijo. Let me dry my hair and I'll be right down. Why don't we go to Granny's for breakfast?"

Henry instantly perked up at the thought of pancakes. "Okay, but can't you magic it dry or something? Is there a spell for that? I don't know how much more of Emma's abuse our kitchen can take."

With a simple flick of her wrist, Regina's hair was dry and perfectly styled. "Ta da," she said with a wink.

"Awesome!" Without further ado, Henry grabbed her hand and pulled her from the room, barely allowing her a chance to grab her purse on the way.

*-*-*-*

Regina had been trying to catch Emma's eye for the entire walk to the diner. Emma, however, seemed determined to ignore her, instead choosing to focus on Henry's excited chatter.

He was happily filling his mothers in on his evening with his grandparents, particularly Snow's failed attempt to learn how to play Halo, when they arrived at Granny's. The trio automatically headed for their usual booth, Ruby following behind them, ready to take their order.

"How's the awesome foursome doing this morning?" she asked brightly.

"Ummm… there's only three of us Ruby," Henry pointed out as politely as he could.

"Duh! There's clearly four of us," she told him, "you, your moms and me!"

Despite her best effort, a small chuckle escaped Regina's lips. "Your modesty knows no bounds Wolf Pup. How about you use those 'awesome' skills to fetch us our usuals?"

With a mock curtsey Ruby turned on her heel and headed towards the kitchen.

"And plenty of coffee Rubes!" Emma called after her, finally breaking her silence.

*-*-*-*

Emma was quiet throughout most of breakfast, only speaking when asked a direct question, and even then her answers were strictly monosyllabic.

As far as Regina was concerned, they needed to hurry up and finish this awkward breakfast and get home so she could speak to the other woman properly in private. It was painfully clear that Emma had taken her outburst this morning personally. She should have cleared things up before they left, but she'd been counting on the promise of greasy food being enough to cheer up the miserable blonde.

Just as Henry was taking his last bite of pancake, the bell above the diner's door jingled loudly, signalling the arrival of a new customer. The sudden silence that engulfed the room meant it could only be one person. Gold.

"Well if it isn't the Swan-Mills family. Or would your prefer Mills-Swan?" Gold had stopped in front of their table, beside the end of the booth Regina was sitting in, effectively trapping her in place. "It doesn't have to same ring to it but it's your _choice_ to make, Regina. His emphasis on the word 'choice' and his meaningful stare were missed by Henry and Emma, but not by her. It was too similar to his parting words to her in the dream.

Gold turned back towards the door and left without ordering anything, ignoring the confused glances directed his way.

"I swear Zelena did something to screw up his brain. He's always been creepy but that was plain weird. I can't believe you're related to him, Kid."

"Shut up Ma!"

Regina slid from the booth, shouting a quick instruction for Henry and Emma to stay where they were. She chased after Gold as quickly as she could without resorting to actually running.

"Gold!" she shouted as she caught up to him. "Wait!"

"What's the matter Regina?" He asked smugly. "You look like you've seen a _ghost_."

"My dream last night, I know it was you. How about you skip the games and explain to me why you did it?"

"I don't need to give you any answers Dearie, you have nothing I want in exchange."

Her hand physically twitched with the temptation to throw a few fireballs at him, exactly like in her dream the previous night. "There must be something you hope to gain out of this otherwise you wouldn't be doing it. Explain. Now."

"I don't think I will," he said simply, "although I will ask you this; what makes you so sure it was a dream?" Gold turned around and hobbled away, leaving Regina completely stunned.

Surely he was lying to her? Last night had to be a dream. Daniel is dead, she reminded herself forcefully. She knew Gold was cruel but she didn't think even he would stoop this low. What kind of a trick was this?

But what if it wasn't a trick? If there was even the slightest chance Daniel was still alive, surely she owed it to him to find out. It was her fault he was dead, if she could save him-

"Regina?" A gentle voice interrupted her chain of thought. "Is everything okay?"

"Of course, Emma," she said with a sigh, "will you come home with Henry and I for a while though? I think we need to talk about what happened this morning."

"There's really no need. I should probably go-"

Regina gently laid her hand over Emma's bicep, anchoring her in place before she could run away. "Please?"

"Okay," Emma said with a slight nod.

*-*-*-*

Henry wisely disappeared straight upstairs to his room once they arrived home, leaving the two women alone in the hall.

"I can make you a cocoa if you want?" Regina offered as she headed into the kitchen to make herself some tea.

"No I'm fine thanks." Emma said as she trailed after the brunette.

Regina moved about the kitchen silently making her tea with no real idea how to explain everything to Emma. How can you explain something you don't even understand? How much of the story should she share?

She heard Emma take a seat at the kitchen island and clear her throat. "Look Regina, I know I screwed up last night and that I acted like a child during breakfast and I know you're upset or angry or whatever and I'm sorry. Tell me how to make better, I hate it when things are weird between us."

"I told you this isn't about what happened last night." Regina took a sip from her mug to stall for time. "I know your intentions were good, no matter how ill-advised your actions were."

"So it is because you woke up with me in your bedroom?" Emma's eyes were fixed on the marble worktop and her fingers traced the subtle patterns running through the stone. "Nothing-"

"Nothing happened. I know," Regina interrupted quickly, "I was nowhere near as drunk as you were dear, if anything I should be the one trying to convince you that nothing happened. I'm actually quite surprised how calm you are about that."

Regina decided not to draw attention to the faint blush that seemed to be creeping across Emma's cheeks or the fact that the other woman quickly changed the subject. She could wonder about that later.

Emma finally looked up and met Regina's dark eyes. "I know you said you dreamed of Daniel. I just don't understand why that would make you so upset. Surely that would be a nice dream to have?"

"It's not that simple," Regina said with a sigh, "It wasn't a normal dream. I often dream of the life we could have had together and you're right, I always enjoy them, even if they are bittersweet once I've woken up again." It felt surprisingly easy to talk to Emma about Daniel. She'd never had the opportunity before but now she'd started she didn't want to stop. "This time, he was living with me here in Storybrooke." She clearly wasn't doing a very good of explaining this because Emma still looked confused about why that would upset her. "I take it David told you about what happened to Daniel at the stables while you were away?"

Emma nodded mutely.

"Well in my dream I managed to save him. God, it felt so real. I honestly thought I was in a parallel world. I saved him and we were together again. Honestly, that's all I've ever wanted."

Emma reached across the surface and grasped Regina's hand. "You thought your dreams were coming true. And then you woke up here and it all got taken away again when you realised it wasn't real. "

"That's the thing though Emma," Regina told her hesitantly, "I'm not completely sure it wasn't real."

Emma suddenly leapt up from her seat and ran out of the room. Regina's heart sank. She'd expected the other woman to be confused, to maybe think Regina had gone completely insane, but not to leave.

Surprisingly the blonde re-entered the room a few minutes later carrying her laptop. "I know this is gonna sound crazy but I think I saw a TV show about this once. There was this guy and he was in a car crash and every time he went to sleep he would swap between two worlds." While she explained, Emma had been searching the internet for the show. She'd never watched it so she had no idea how it ended. Maybe if she found that out, she'd know how to help Regina. "All I really remember is that in one his wife was dead and in the other his son was dead…. Oh my God! Henry isn't dead in the other world is he? Please tell me Henry's okay!"

"No Henry is living with Daniel and I. He's perfectly fine." Regina watched as Emma visibly relaxed and went back to typing away on the laptop. "So you believe me? You really think this could be real too? You don't think I'm being stupid?"

"Regina we live in a town of fairytale characters. Last night I went out and got drunk off my ass with Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, Snow White and the 'Evil Queen'." Emma made sure to use air quotes as she used Regina's former title. "I pretty much think anything could be real nowadays. If you really believe in this then that's enough for me."

Emma went back to reading the Wikipedia page she'd found, completely oblivious to the emotions running wild yet again in Regina's head. No one had ever had this much faith in her before and there had definitely never been someone so willing to help. Regina hadn't even asked, yet here Emma was, trying to solve everything for her.

"Do we still get on in this other world?" Emma asked. "You said Henry was living with you right? Do I still get to see him or does Daniel not like me or something?"

"Emma…" She should be honest right? It wasn't like Emma was actually dead or anything, she was sitting right there living and breathing. Plus Regina knew Emma's lie detector would pick up on any deception. "You aren't there, you and your mother never made it back from the Enchanted Forest. I'm sorry, I still removed the curse from the well but..."

"Oh. Well that sucks I guess," Emma said with a shrug, "I guess that explains even more why you were so confused this morning."

"I'm sorry-"

"No it isn't your fault. We'll figure this out eventually. Although we may have to wait until tomorrow. By then we'll know if it's happened again. It would have been a one time thing." Emma got to her feet and circled round the island until she was next to Regina. "How about for today the three of us chill out here together? Unless you want me to go home of course?"

"Well obviously you have to stay otherwise I won't know what world I've woken up in tomorrow will I?" Regina pretended to herself that was the only reason she wanted the blonde to stay. It was easier that way.

Emma grinned and grabbed her hands, pulling her along towards the living room. Both Henry and Emma seemed to relish dragging her around, but Regina suddenly found that she didn't mind in the slightest.


End file.
